Darkness pressed close around him, thick as smoke, alive with whispers that scraped against his thoughts. Rondan stood bound in that endless void, chains of black fire pulsing with the rhythm of a beating heart—his heart.
He could feel it.
The flame within him, restless and fierce, straining to answer the call that echoed through this world of nothingness.
From the void, a figure emerged—a being made of living embers, wearing a crown of molten gold. Its form was ever-changing, flickering between man, beast, and something divine.
"The Catalyst awakens," the being intoned, its voice echoing like a thousand bells.
"To claim the Forgotten Flame, you must first survive the Burning Veil."
The chains that held Rondan blazed brighter, then shattered into fragments of light. He fell to his knees, coughing smoke, his body shaking as searing heat tore through his veins.
Images flashed before his eyes—memories, illusions, and something deeper.
He saw his past self, younger, weaker, standing before the ruins of his village. He saw his mother's hand, warm and trembling. Then, fire—devouring everything.
Rondan clenched his fists.
"This again…"
The world twisted. His younger self turned toward him, eyes hollow, voice trembling.
"You could've saved us… if only you'd accepted the mark sooner."
Rondan's eyes blazed crimson.
"You're not real."
"Maybe not."
The boy's smile warped into something cruel. "But the flame remembers."
The illusion ignited into a storm of fire, consuming everything. Rondan roared, pushing forward through the blaze. Each step burned his flesh, but he didn't stop. The fire tried to break him, whispering promises of power, vengeance, release—but he only gritted his teeth harder.
"I don't need your mercy. I'll forge my own flame!"
At his words, the fire recoiled. The endless inferno folded in on itself, collapsing into a single ember that hovered before him, glowing faintly gold.
The voice returned, quieter now—almost approving.
"Then take it. The flame that burns without chains."
Rondan reached out, and the ember sank into his chest. For an instant, silence. Then—
A surge of power. His crimson eyes flared to gold for a heartbeat, the mark on his arm reshaping, alive and blazing.
The Burning Veil shattered.
Rondan stood once more in the void, unchained, his breath steady, his aura vast and heavy with divine heat.
He whispered, voice steady:
"Whatever waits beyond this… I'll burn through it."